As the title suggests, this concise volume explores major issues related to disability and sexual health, providing an introductory discussion of topics ranging from sexual health education to sexual abuse and exploitation, issues related to HIV and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), and sexual and reproductive health care. The authors’ aim is to combat the stereotype of disabled people as asexual and therefore not in need of comprehensive sexual health knowledge, while also filling a gap in the literature stemming from this assumption. Disability and Sexual Health provides a useful entry point to issues regarding sexual health and disability, and highlights the need for more work in this area.
The book is divided into eight chapters, including an overview of several models for understanding disability, as well as a chapter exploring intersectional issues related to disability and sexual health such as gender, sexual orientation and ethnicity. There are four chapters related to the major areas of focus identified by the authors: sexual health education; HIV and STDs; sexual abuse and exploitation; and, finally, sexual and reproductive health care. The authors conclude with a chapter exploring inclusive practice for medical and health practitioners. Perhaps most useful are the case studies: examples of research that highlight the particular issue the authors are discussing. These provide not only empirical examples of the issues and concepts at play, but also offer directions for further reading for those new to issues of disability and sexual health. Moreover, the case studies are considered in depth, in contrast to the rest of the research reviewed in each chapter, which is given only a brief summary. Most of the research considered in this book is from a health science, medical or sociological perspective. Although the authors present several models for understanding disability and state that their intention in doing so is ‘to equip you, the reader, with the knowledge necessary to understand disability in a way that is meaningful to you’ (21), the book clearly uses a mix of the social and cultural models of disability in discussing barriers to sexual and reproductive health for disabled people.
Because the book is intended as an introductory overview, covering recent research in the relevant areas being discussed, some of the sections can seem repetitive. I found this to be especially true for the chapter on sexual abuse and exploitation. That said, within this chapter the authors provide careful attention to the many factors that may influence the prevalence of abuse amongst disabled people, including personal or micro-level issues such as low self-esteem, negative body image, dependency and a lack of knowledge of what constitutes abuse as well as the systemic issues that impact people with disabilities. The authors emphasize the power inequalities between victim and abuser, particularly for disabled women (56).
I must commend the authors for their acknowledgement of the fact that many women with disabilities turn to sex work in order to survive poverty; as a disabled sex worker, it is nice to see oneself reflected in the literature (63). However, those very same disabled sex workers are missing from the research reviewed in the chapter on HIV and STDs (which is, unsurprisingly, where disabled sex workers make an appearance). Sex workers living with HIV in the Global South have led much of the research and prevention campaigns for HIV, such as the Sonagachi Project in India, or the work done by Sisonke in South Africa, both of which are peer-led prevention and intervention programmes. Given that the stated aim of the book is to examine issues that ‘exclude people with disabilities from access to sexual health rights’ (4), even a cursory nod to the fact that discrimination towards sex workers living with HIV prevents many from accessing comprehensive HIV treatment would have done much to highlight this issue.
The authors also do their best to combat the over-representation of whiteness in disability studies literature, focusing many of their examples and case studies on research done in countries from the Global South. This is especially important given that 80% of people with disabilities reside in the Global South, and, as the authors state, ‘have little or no access to basic health care and social services’ (2).
Overall, Disability and Sexual Health is a comprehensive introduction to the barriers faced by disabled people in accessing sexual health rights. This book will be especially useful to newcomers to the field of sexual health or disability studies, given the extensive bibliography. Moreover, it is accessibly written and largely free of academic jargon (and any that is included is well explained).
Gender, Feminist and Women's Studies, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada
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